Can packing machine



Aug. 18, 1959 Filed April 21, 1958 FIG. I.

A. B. EREKSON ET AL CAN PACKING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORSARTHUR B. EREKSON MALCOLM 5. LANE RICHARD L. SEIDMAN ROBERT CALVERTATTORNEY.

1959 A. B. EREKSON ET AL 2,899,787

CAN PACKING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1958 INVENTORS w MS KND Um E .5 am RLm UOA HCH TL RA! AMR ROBERT CALVERT ATTORNEY.

. 1959 A. B. EREKSON ET AL 2,899,787

CAN PACKING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 21, 1958 ROBERT CALVERTATTORNEY.

1959 A. B. EREKSON ET AL 2,899,787

CAN PACKING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 21, 1958 f liioooINVENTO S ARTHUR B. EREKSON MALCOLM 5. LANE BY RICHARD L. SEIDMAN ROBERTCALV ATTORNE 1959 A. B. EREKSON ETAL 2,899,787 7 CAN PACKING MACHINE 1Filed April 21, 1958 5. Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 7

FIG. 10.

FIG. 1/.

INVENTORS ARTHUR B. EREKSON MALCOLM 5. LANE RICHARD L. SEIDMAN ROBERTCALVERT- ATTORNEY.

United States Patent'O ice CAN PACKING MACHINE Arthur B. Er ckson,Scarsdale, N.'Y., 'Malcolm S. Lane,

' Baltimore, Md, and Richard L. Seidman, South Nor- Walk, C nn.

Application April 21 1958, Serial No. 729,209

8 Claims. (Cl. 53-4244) for filling shaped The difiiculty normallyencountered of uneven weights.

is due to varying thickness of the sheet of dough. This causesvariations in the weight of the or other fixed number of pieces commonlyplaced in one can. The smooth, even packing at a minimum of expense andtime is also a problem since the dough units have a tendencyoccasionally'to buckle somewhat or come to rest in tilted position inthe can.

Our machine .makes possible the quick and uniform packing of the blanks.Also the machine selects the blanks for a single can from dilferentparts of the dough sheet from which the blanks have been cut, actually,from ten or so different positions across the sheet and length- .wise of.the sheet. In this manner unevenness of the thickness or weight of theunits are averaged out in the assembly in the can.

.Brielly stated, the invention comprises the herein described machineandparts thereof, particularly a machine for filling uniformly shapedfiat objects into an open end container such as a can, the machineincluding means for delivering the objects in line on amoving conveyorin predetermined spaced relationship to each other lengthwise oftheconveyor, means for (l) moving-one of; the containers to be filledadjacent to and to the side of one of the said objects on the conveyor,(2) lifting the said one of the objects from the conveyor, depositingthe object in thecontainer, and then releasing the object from thelifting mechanism, (3) returning the said lifting mechanism to thepick-up position for a succeeding one of the said objects on theconveyor, and (4) repeating the cycle.

In general, 'the machine provides means for performing. in turn thefollowing operations: Cutting the sheeted dough into blanks of desiredsize and shapes that are regular, as for instance,'-hexagonal, square,rectangular, or the like, transferring these cutouts to a'conveyor withspaces between theblanks as arranged lengthwise on the conveyor, liftingthe biscuit blank'at a predetermined position by a mechanism thatissynchronized with a rotating support for the cans, keeping the biscuitblank at all times, between its pick-up and its being deposited in thean. cen ra y PO fid bo h c in Wh blank is to be deposited, depositingthe-blank in the can, removing the lifting mechanism from the can, thenlifting a second biscuit by a like mechanism from another part of theconveyor spaced both laterally and lengthwise of the conveyor from thepick-up position or the first biscuit and suitably from a separateparallel conveyor strip adjacent to the first conveyor, placing thissecond biscuit on top of the first one in'th'e can, and repeating theatented Aug- 18, 19

operation with cutouts from other parts of the sheet of dough until thecan is filled to the necessary extent.

The invention will be further illustrated by description in connectionwith the drawings,,in 'which:

Fig. l is a plan View of the machine partly broken away to show thecircular platforms of the biscuit transfer mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a side. elevation partly in section of the feed end of machineof Fig. 1.

Fig. 3. is a plan view, on a somewhat enlarged scale, of the feed end ofthe side-by-side conveyor strip assembly.

Fig. 4 is an elevational section of the mechanism for biscuit liftingand depositing and for revolution of the cans.

Fig. 5 is a plan view, partly broken away for clear ness ofillustration, showing in more detail than Fig. l particularly the meansfor transferring containers from one rotating support to another andplacing biscuits in the cans.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the stationary cam of the machine.

Fig. 7 is an edge View of the same cam.

Fig. 8 is a developed profile view of cam surface of this stationarycam.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the rotating cam showing also some of the drivemechanism.

Fig. 10 is a side view of the rotating cam.

Fig. 11 is a developed profile view of the camming surface of therotating cam.

The figures are in part diagrammatic and parts not illustrated areconventional.

There is shown a driven belt 10 with a sheet 12 of hiscuit do ugh'beingdelivered thereon over the rollers 14 and Y16 to a position beneath arotary cylinder cutter indicated generally at 18. The cutter includesradially arranged cutters with internal plungers 20. These plungers areraised from the cutting position, by stationary cam 22, against thepressure of springs 24.

The cutouts or blanks of biscuit dough remain on the cutters until thecutters come above the fingers 39. These fingers suitably are spacedrods extending in the general direction of the movement of theconveyor28 but slightly above the end thereof that is to the rear, when themachine is operating, i.e., the-feed end. These fingers 30 extend to thesides of the spacing elements or lugs 32 which project upwardly betweenadjacent fingers and to such height that, as the lugs move between thefingers 30, the lugs contact the rear edge of the biscuit cutouts andcarry them forward as illustrated in Fig. 2 and at fixed spacing to eachother lengthwise of the conveyor. The lugs 32 are at distances, betweenthe closest points of each, greater than the length of the separatecutouts, that is, their dimension from front to back.

Conventional power equipment (not shown) operates the synchronizinggears 36, 38 and 39 so that the relative speeds'of the cutting mechanism18 and of the conveyor 28 are determined. Driving means for the belt 10are usual and not shown but are such that the speed of this belt isslower than the speed of conveyor 28. As a result, there is createdspace between the cutouts after they are delivered from belt 1%} toconveyor 28 through the mechanism described.

The machine includes supports 40 for the lifting mechanism 42 and forthe containers such as cans 44. These supports are rotated by powermechanism indicated generally at 46, including central shaft and countershatts, asshown in Fig. 1.

Also these supports contain equally spaced peripheral pockets 48 of sizeto receive the cans 44 to be filled. Transfer mechanism including starwheels 55 are disposed between adjacent ones of the rotating supportsfor transferring the containers 44 from one of the rotating supports tothe next as illustrated in Fig. l, the star wheels being driven at thesame peripheral speed as the said rotating supports 40. Guide strips 53(Fig. 5) direct the cans into the pockets 48 and strips 55a direct thecans into the peripheral pockets 57 of the star wheels.

The lifting element proper includes the tube 42, an air-permeable head49, and means such as threads (not shown) holding the head on the saidtube. The head may be of usual kind such as a perforated brass can withinch drill holes therein or one with a wire screen face of 20-40 meshwires suificiently stiff to be shaperetaining.

The means mounting the tube in vertically movable manner and means foralternately lowering and raising the tube include the verticallyslidable rod 52, cam follower 55, stationary annular lifting cam 56, andlowering (plunger dipping) cam 58, also annular, with means rotating thecam 58 at a fixed speed of l revolution for each biscuit pick-up. Whenthere are ten pick-up plunger heads on the rotating support assembly,for example, then the plunger dipping cam 58 must rotate times for lrotation of the said assembly. The dipping action upon the plunger(through the cam 58, cam follower 55 and said rod 52), causes theplunger 42 of the lifting mechanism to sink into the can, at the biscuitrelease position as the cam follower 55 passes across the gap 67 (Figs.68), and then rise during the course of only a few degrees of revolutionof the cam follower 55, the total distance across the gap correspondingto 36 of rotation for the lO-stage assembly referred to above. The highspeed of rotation of cam 58 makes unnecessary such a steep pitch ofascent 77 of the carnming surface as would cause a sudden blow or bumpon the cam follower 55, as it is raised suddenly from the releaseposition. The sudden dip and reelevation of follower 55 is accomplishedquickly, in spite of the moderate pitch, by the high speed of thisflying cam 58.

Means are shown for creating reduced pressure inside the lifter head 49and alternately increasing the pressure, as by air supplied alternatelythrough vacuum or pressure pumps (not shown). The reduced pressure isinduced when the lifter head is at the position 26a, at which thebiscuit cutouts are picked up, the increased pressure at the releaseposition 26b.

The annular stationary cam 56 is an incomplete circle with gap 67, ofdistance across D, between the two ends thereof and with sloped surfacesof the ends as shown at 69 (Figs. 68). The cam surface of thisstationary cam carries a depression 71 at the position for bringing theplunger head down onto a biscuit at the pick-up position thereof, as thecam follower 55 enters this depression. The gap 67 causes the camfollower, as it moves across the gap, to drop onto the rotating cam 58at the position 73 (Figs. 9-l1). The cam 58 rotates faster than the camfollower 55 revolves and is so mounted and driven that the steep slope75 of the rotating cam overtakes the follower and the cam follower runsdown this steep slope immediately after the follower starts to moveacross the gap 67. As a result, the pick-up head, attached indirectly tothe cam follower, deposits the biscuit in the can 44 at the point 81 onthe cam. Then, as the rotating cam moves, at its high speed under thecam follower 55, the cam surface 77 of lesser slope elevates the camfollower to the point 79 on the stationary cam. The cycle is thenrepeated.

Means that are conventional and are not fully shown drive the rotatingcam at an angular speed that is as many times faster than the speed ofrevolution of the cam follower 55 as there are filling stations on therotating support assembly 40. In other words, the rotating cam makes acomplete revolution while the cam follower and the rotating assembly, inwhich the cam follower is mounted, moves only through the distance D ofFig. 8, that is the distance apart of the filling stations representedby the can positions 48 (Fig. 1) in the rotating support. When there areten of these filling stations to a rotating support, then the rotatingcam moves through 360 while the cam follower moves through only 36".

The operation of the machine will be largely evident from thedescription of it that has been given.

More specifically, the dough is formed into a flat sheet, as forinstance approximately inch thick, which is delivered to the rotarycutter by means of a belt. The cutter extends also over the starting endof the strip conveyors to which are attached the timing lugs or spacingelements 32. The action of the cutter is to blank out the biscuits anddeposit them in proper timing on the fingers 30.

The cutter contains cam actuated plungers which are released at theproper point in relation to the strip conveyors so that each biscuitcutout is deposited at the proper place. The biscuit is momentarilyarrested by support on the said fingers where the biscuit is stationaryuntil a timing lug 32 comes up behind it and advances the biscuit in theproper position on the conveyor strip.

The cutter shown makes hexagonal biscuit blanks. There is no wasteexcept at the sides of the sheet and no interference, therefore, bywaste such as would be formed between round shapes.

The biscuit travels with the conveyor to the center line of the pick-uphead at which point 26a, the center line of the biscuit, is directlyunder the center of the plunger or pick-up head. The pick-up head lowersat this instant and contacts the biscuit. By the partial vacuum insidethe head, the biscuit is lifted from the strip conveyor and movedlaterally in an arc and upward by the revolving pick-up head. Afterrevolving through an angle of approximately 70, the pick-up head, stillre volving, starts to move also downward until it deposits the biscuitin its release position 2612 in the can. As the can advances from theempty position at the left in Fig. 1 to the nearly filled condition atthe right, there is a stepwise reduction in the distance to which thebiscuit is lowered into the can, so that the first biscuit is depositednear the bottom of the can and later ones upon those previouslyintroduced. It will be noted that the object lifting mechanism includingthe head 40 is moved continuously, by the power supplied through shaft46, in the path of a complete circle, with dips at the positions ofcontact with an object to be lifted and later of release of the objectsin the can (Figs. 4, 5, and 1.)

In all cases, air under pressure is introduced through the hollowplunger 42 into the pick-up head. This blows the biscuit off at position26b (Fig. 5) at the start of retraction of the plunger from the can bymeans of the cam 56.

Cans 44 are fed by any usual means (not shown) into the machine at thefirst station and are then engaged in the pockets 48 in the rotating cansupport of carrier 40. Each carrier is exactly concentric with thecenter mounting of the pick-up plunger which the carrier supports andrevolves. The can is carried through the filling cycle, each can in anindividual pocket 48 of a carrier. At the introduction of each biscuit,the can is transferred to the next station by means of the star wheel 50arrangement with guide 55a.

It is necessary to deposit one biscuit at each succeeding station in itsexact level in the can. Therefore the succeeding pick-up heads from theleft to right in Fig. 1 make strokes of diminishing length, so that thefirst head deposits the bottom biscuit in the bottom of the can and thelast head at the right deposits the top biscuit. The biscuits neithertilt from the horizontal position nor compress the biscuits below.

Movements of parts of the machine are synchronized.

The filled cans, removed from the last filling station at the right(Fig. 1), are inspected and then closed in normal manner.

The dough constituting the biscuits may be anyone that is commonlyemployed 'in prepared ready to bake biscuits, as,for example, a doughcontaining 100 parts by Weight of Wheat flour and approximately 62 ofwater, 2.5-3.5 of sodium acid pyrophosphate on the anhydrous basis, andsodium bicarbonate in amount at least equivalent to the pyrophosphateand suitably in excess thereof by 10%40%. A particularly suitablecomposition for the dough is that described in the application forpatent filed by Erekson and Duncan, February 26, 1958, Serial No.717,564, entitled Dough Composition.

The container used is conventional for the purpose. Ordinarily it is aspirally wound paper can with aluminum foil lining and tinned sheetsteel ends, the end seams allowing escaped of gas under pressure butholding back dough so that, as the dough expands to fill the can, thedough seals the gas escape outlets or seams. The can should besufiiciently strong and tight to withstand pressures of 12-16 lbs.p.s.i. and ordinarily a test up to 40 p.s.i. A common size of can forbiscuit dough cutouts about 1% inches across is 2 inches in diameter by5 /2 inches high, both inside dimensions. A form of can that may be usedwith proper adjustment of the travel of the lifting head is the tubularcontainer with plastic liner described in Patent 2,811,455, issued toArthur B. Erekson on October 29, 1957 and entitled Container forLeavened Dough.

The conveyor 28 should be stable in length so that the spacing ofobjects carried thereon will be unchanging and dependable. We use toadvantage a conventional rubber conveyor belt with notches 65 anddimension stabilizing material (not shown) embedded therein, as forexample, closely spaced stainless steel wires extending lengthwise andas closed loops within the belt and with cross-grooves on the inside ofthe belt registering with the drive roller 63 (Fig. 2). To this conveyorbelt we attach the evenly spaced elements or lugs 32 as by bolts (notshown).

Other parts of the machine are constructed of materials commonly usedfor like parts in other machines, as for instance, of steel, tinnedsteel plate, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, or the like.

The machine described, with ten side-by-side strip conveyors moving at aspeed of about 33 feet a minute, has the capacity of 160 cans a minutewhen the biscuits are spaced at 2.5 inches on centers.

The machine may be used for packing, into containers such as cans, otherobjects including cookies and crackers in either the dough state orbaked condition, shaped candies, plastic discs or shapes, and the like.

It is understood that it is intended to cover all changes andmodifications of the examples of the invention herein chosen for thepurpose of illustration which do not constitute departures from thespirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A machine for filling uniformly shaped and generally flat surfacedobjects into a can with open upper end comprising means for deliveringthe objects to a moving conveyor in line and in evenly spacedrelationship to each other lengthwise of the conveyor, means for movingthe can adjacent to one of the said objects on the conveyor and offsetto the side of the said line of objects, lifting mechanism for liftingthe object from the conveyor, means for moving the object liftingmechanism continuously in the path of a complete circle and, at oneposition in the circle, downwardly to the object to be lifted and atanother downwardly into the can and there releasing the object from thelifting mechanism, for returning the lifting mechanism to a succeedingone of the-said objects on the said conveyor and for repeating thecycle.

' 2. The machine of claim 1, the said'conveyor being in the form of aseries of strip conveyors disposed side-byside and of varying lengths,the shortest length being on the side of the conveyor adjacent to thesaid lifting mechanism and the lengthincreasing'by steps so that thelong: est strip is on the opposite side of the machine, and the machineincluding a series of lifting mechanisms with one of them disposedadjacent to the position of termination of the delivery end of each ofthe said strips.

3. The machine of claim 1, the said lifting mechanism including arotatable support for a plunger, an air permeable lifting head on thelower end of the plunger, means for alternately creating reduced airpressure inside the head at the pick-up position for an object andincreased pressure at the release position, and means for rotating thesupport and lowering the plunger to the position at which the headthereon contacts the object to be lifted from the conveyor and forlifting the head and object thereagainst from the conveyor and forlowering them into the said can to the position for release of the thebiscuit.

4. The machine of claim 1, the means for delivering the said objects tothe conveyor including fingers extending adjacent to and above the feedend of the said conveyor and in the direction of movement thereof, meansfor delivering the said objects from the cutters onto the fingers, andnarrow spacing elements upstanding from the said conveyor and betweenand above the fingers at predetermined distances greater, at the nearestpoints of the said elements, than the dimensions of the said objectsfrom front to back, so that the objects are pushed from the fingers bythe upstanding elements on to the conveyor and are moved therewith infront of and in contact with the said spacing elements and at distancesapart determined by the spacing elements.

5. The machine of claim 3, the said rotatable support including meansfor holding the can in fixed relationship to the support and at alltimes directly under the said head on the lifting mechanism.

6. The machine of claim 3, including a stationary, annular lifting camprovided with a gap, disposed below the said plunger, acting upon thesaid plunger, and having an upper surface inclined so as to raise andlower the plunger in calculated manner following the profile of theinclined surface as the plunger revolves there-above, an annular dippingcam in the form of a rotor with an upper surface inclined downward andthen upward, means mounting the dipping cam immediately below thelifting cam so that the dipping cam bridges the said gap and lowers andthen raises the said plunger as the support for the plunger moves acrossthe gap, and means for rotating the dipping cam at the rate of 1revolution for each lifting of one of the said objects.

7. In a machine for changing the elevation of a revolving part of thesaid machine, the improvement comprising a stationary annular camdisposed below the said revolving part, provided with a gap, and havingan inclined upper surface acting upon the said part so as to control theelevation of the part in calculated manner as the part revolves andrests upon the inclined upper surface, a rotating annular cam with aninclined upper surface, means mounting the rotating cam immediatelybelow the stationary cam so that the rotating cam bridges the said gapand controls the elevation of the said revolving part as the said partmoves across the gap, and means for rotating the rotating cam at therate of 1 complete rotation during the time of passage of the saidrevolving part across the said gap.

8. A machine for feeding objects to a conveyor in predetermined regularspacing from each other, the machine comprising spaced fingers disposedadjacent to, approximately parallel to, and above the feed end only ofthe said conveyor and extending in the direction of movement thereof,means for delivering the said objects upon the fingers so that thefingers support the objects so delivered, and narrow spacing elementsupstanding from the said conveyor and between and above the fingers sothat the objects are pushed, by advancement of the upstanding elements,from the fingers and onto the said conveyor at distances apart of theobjects determined by the said spacing elements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSEissmann Mar. 5, 1940 Spain Dec. 14, 1948 Kelly Oct. 19, 1954 GausmanFeb. 15, 1955 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIONPatent No. 2,899,787 August 18,, 1959 Arthur B. Erekson et al.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the saidLetters Patent should readas corrected below.

Column 6, line 1,, after "and" insert means Signed and sealed this 9thday of August 1960.

{is EAL) Attest:

KARL AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Ofiicer Commissioner of Patents

